


Tolerable Company

by intheKnickoftime



Category: Purple Hyacinth (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Sort Of, This was supposed to be crack, but it's unintentional, crackship, have some fluff instead??, meeting for coffee, no editing we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24051652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intheKnickoftime/pseuds/intheKnickoftime
Summary: “It’s a well-known fact that if I am deprived of coffee, my chances of committing a murder before noon rise significantly,” Lukas deadpanned. For some reason, Lila laughed at that.“I’m glad I got here after you were already situated, then,” she said.
Relationships: Lukas Randall "Grumpy Cat"/Lila Desroses
Comments: 3
Kudos: 53





	Tolerable Company

“Grumpy Cat.”

All things considered, Lukas supposed he didn’t mind the nickname he’d garnered for himself around the Precinct. In a way, it was fitting.

Cats, after all, were creatures of habit, of routine. And Officer Lukas Randall certainly liked his routine.

Arrive at work (6:30 precisely), grab his morning coffee (black), perhaps polish his pistol or strike fear into the surrounding desks with a vaguely (or, sometimes, a little more than simply vague) threatening remark, and then lapse into his customary silence until called elsewhere. That was, by and large, a typical weekday for him.

On off days, though… his routine loosened up. Just a bit.

Coffee was still a staple, however. Separating Lukas from his coffee was, as most of his coworkers already knew, a dangerous proposal indeed.

Rather than getting it from the office, though, Lukas made his way to the same coffeeshop every Saturday. It wasn’t the nearest one to his home, but it was tolerably small and typically not crowded. A perfect spot to sit in that comfortable, customary silence.

Rather than taking his weekend coffee completely black, however, Lukas did choose to liven up this particular aspect of his routine somehow.

Instead, he got it with just a hint of sugar. Really pushing his limits.

His wish for solitary silence would not be granted this morning, however.

  
\---  
  


Secretary Lila Desroses was trying something new this morning. 

She hummed softly to herself as she strolled down the street, giving a soft smile upward at the morning sunlight. It sure was nice to have a day off, amidst all the chaos of the arrests directed by the vigilantes Lune- and on such a beautiful morning, to boot. It was brisk out for sure, and she was tucked deeply into a warm coat, but the sun helped to make up for it.

She had opted to take full advantage of her freedom for the morning and go out for a nice walk- past the cafe she typically frequented for breakfast, and down several blocks, wandering aimlessly for the most part, and finally winding up at the door of a much smaller, though no less cozy and clean-looking, coffeeshop. Beautiful out though it was, she was getting a bit chilly, and she decided to stop in for a quick drink to warm herself up.

It was largely empty, and she was able to stroll right up to the counter and order- as per her usual, a coffee with three each of cream and sugar, as well as a blueberry muffin. While she stood waiting for her order, she turned about to examine the cafe. It was cute, really, with neatly painted trim and tables of varying size scattered throughout the space. Most of them were entry, but there in the corner-

“Oh! Officer Randall- good morning!” Lila said brightly, waving to him. Grumpy Cat’s dark eyes flicked up to hers, and he heaved a small sigh by way of greeting as she grabbed her order from the countertop and hurried over to where her coworker was sitting.

“It’s nice to see you out and about- may I?” she asked, gesturing at the empty chair opposite Lukas.

“If you must,” he muttered, taking another deep sip of his coffee. Lila sat neatly in her chair, eyeing him with a certain measure of wariness. Familiar face though he was, Lukas’ grim humor and sullen demeanor made him difficult to read at times. He didn’t seem hostile, though, and it really was nice to see another member of the precinct out and about this morning.

If you could consider ‘huddling in the corner of a mostly-empty cafe’ as being ‘out and about.’ Technicalities.

  
\---  
  


So much for peace and quiet, Lukas noted internally.

Although, he supposed, if his peaceful morning was going to be disturbed by a coworker, he supposed that Ms. Desroses wasn’t completely terrible company. After her initial greeting she had settled down quietly, making short work of a blueberry muffin and leaving him to his coffee.

Once that was done, though, she spoke up again.

“So- er- are you enjoying your day off, officer?”

“It’s been passable,” he said flatly, not offering any further conversation. Lila wilted a bit, and that-

-what was this? Lukas’ customary frown (his "resting dead-inside face," as Sergeant Ladell had so eloquently put it on one occasion) deepened as he noted the tiniest twinge of guilt at her reaction.

Strange.

And yet.

“I haven’t seen you here before,” he spoke up, causing Lila to look vaguely startled. “What led you to intrude on my peace this morning in particular?” He allowed the corner of his mouth to twitch, just a little, so she would know he was joking. The smallest of cues, and yet Lila picked up on it, grinning at him from behind her round glasses.

“I opted to go for a walk, since it’s such a beautiful morning,” she said eagerly, fingers tapping absently on the edge of the table. “And I wound up outside this place, and decided I may as well stop in for a coffee- and I’m glad I did! It’s nice to see another member of the precinct out and about this morning.”

“It’s a well-known fact that if I am deprived of coffee, my chances of committing a murder before noon rise significantly,” Lukas deadpanned. For some reason, Lila laughed at that.

“I’m glad I got here after you were already situated, then,” she said. “You like your coffee black, don’t you?”

“I occasionally treat myself to a little sugar on the weekends,” he responded, with dignity, as though daring her to suggest that such a concession dampened his “Grumpy Cat” reputation.

“Mmm,” Lila said, smiling a bit thoughtfully but not pressing the point. “And- I’m sorry to bring work into the conversation on both of our day off, but I’ve been dying to ask- what does the patrol unit have to say about your latest arrest? I heard you recently took Harry Anslow into custody. Was it another one of Lune’s hints?”

  
\---  
  


Oddly enough, Lukas seemed to perk up at her bringing Lune into the conversation- but then, Lila remembered, he had seemed delighted at the prospect of someone trying up and interrogating McTrevor after the mysterious Lune had led them to the first Phantom Scythe convict. He elaborated on how they’d found the crime scene- Anslow had been found unconscious and tied up in a storage room, of all places.

After a few more minutes’ back and forth on the subject of Lune- Lila remained optimistic about the fact that someone was out there aiding the police department, no matter what Hermann argued to the contrary, while Lukas seemed satisfied so long as the offered leads turned out decent results- the two pushed back their chairs and gathered their empty cups, preparing to depart.

“Well,” Lila said as she bundled herself back into her coat once more. “Thank you for allowing me to ‘intrude on your peace’ this morning. I did enjoy our conversation- it will certainly be interesting to see if Lune will continue providing hints for us.”

“Indeed,” Lukas said, surprising Lila by lifting her coffee mug from her hands and handing both of them to the man behind the counter. “Your company was passable.”

“Thank you,” Lila said half-jokingly, not quite sure why that dry remark made her smile. Most of the time, Officer Randall’s remarks bordered on unsettling, but this morning… he had seemed nearly friendly, at times. Certainly more interesting to talk to than she would have expected. “You were rather tolerable yourself.”

“See you at work,” Lukas said with the barest flicker of a polite smile before stepping back out into the brisk morning, propping the door for Lila as he went.

  
\---  
  


Passable indeed, Lukas thought as he strolled back down the street, in the opposite direction of Ms. Desroses. 

Of all the coworkers to disturb him… he supposed he didn’t completely despise the fact that it had been her.

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be more crack-ish, but ended up being literally just fluff. I refuse to apologize; we needed a break from all the angst in this fandom tag (y'all out here killing my heart piece by piece... ow)
> 
> Not much basis for shipping these two (yet?) in purple hyacinth itself, but I think they have the potential to be cute? I hope I was able to do them justice here, hah.
> 
> Lila likes blueberry muffins, sorry I don't make the rules
> 
> This is, in fact, my first time writing fic of any sort. wild. kudos and comments will make me keel over in gratitude, I kid you not.


End file.
